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Employment
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August 01, 2024
Feds Say Farmworkers Should Have Sued State Over Wages
The U.S. Department of Labor has urged a Washington federal court to toss a farmworker union's challenge to policies governing the prevailing wage, saying the union's issues actually stem from how state officials interpreted federal rules governing the wage rate.
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August 01, 2024
Employers Urge Justices Take Up Withdrawal Liability Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court must resolve a circuit split over how to calculate the bills sent to companies that leave union pension plans, a group of employers has argued, fighting an argument by the trustees of an International Association of Machinists pension fund that the split is "tolerable."
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August 01, 2024
Staffing Agency Not Covered In Pay Law Row, Insurer Says
An insurer told a Washington federal court that it has no obligation to cover a home healthcare staffing agency in an underlying proposed class action accusing the agency of violating the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, maintaining that the underlying allegations fall outside the scope of its policy.
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August 01, 2024
Pa. Workers' OT Claims Over Pensions Stand, Judge Says
Federal labor law doesn't preempt some claims from unionized hospital workers in Pennsylvania over incorrect overtime pay, a federal judge determined, saying interpretation of a labor contract laying out the calculation of wage rates and pension contributions isn't necessary to resolve those allegations.
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August 01, 2024
Duane Morris Atty Says White Men Get Unfair Leg Up On Pay
A Black attorney sued Duane Morris LLP in California federal court, alleging the firm systemically underpaid female and nonwhite attorneys while also engaging in an employee misclassification scheme that allowed it to offload firm expenses onto nonequity partners.
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August 01, 2024
Conn. High Court Adopts Narrow 'Supervisor' Definition
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday that only employees who can hire, fire or promote other workers count as supervisors whose harassment can place vicarious liability on their employer under state civil rights law, adopting the federal high court's narrow definition of the term.
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August 01, 2024
TD Bank's $25M Client Poach Case Hits FINRA Snags
Ex-TD Bank employees accused of siphoning $25 million in business to Raymond James Financial Services Inc. agreed to move a dispute over a restraining order into arbitration to shield themselves from negative press, the bank told a federal judge Thursday after the defendants complained about delays to the proceeding.
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August 01, 2024
Merchandising Co. Says Ex-VP Sunk $47M Deal With Lowe's
An ex-merchandising company executive exploited trade secrets to sabotage a $47 million deal with home improvement giant Lowe's Cos. Inc., the executive's former employer has alleged in a federal lawsuit in North Carolina.
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August 01, 2024
Chancery Denies Ex-InterMune CEO $6M Legal Fee Right
Delaware's Chancery Court rejected on Thursday a bid by former InterMune CEO W. Scott Harkonen to escape demands to repay nearly $6 million in legal fees covered by biotech venture InterMune Inc. and insurers during his unsuccessful defense against a 2009 wire fraud conviction, denying all claims for legal fee indemnification.
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August 01, 2024
Auto Parts Co. Denied Immigrant Workers Full Pay, Suit Says
Aftermarket auto parts company Parts Authority schemed to target new immigrants, mostly from Guyana, to work as cheap labor at a New York warehouse, one former Guyanese employee alleged in a potential class action filed in New York federal court.
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August 01, 2024
NLRB Prosecutors Make Employee Case For USC Athletes
National Labor Relations Board prosecutors urged an agency judge to find that players on the University of Southern California's football and basketball teams are employees under federal labor law, arguing their status as students doesn't mean they aren't workers.
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August 01, 2024
NJ Justices Say Bridge Commission Can Mandate Union Deals
The compact that created the bistate Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission gave the commission the authority to require contractors to use project labor agreements in a publicly bid construction project, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
IAM Local, Car Dealership Settle Secondary Boycott Suit
An International Association of Machinists local and a Mercedes-Benz dealership told a California federal judge Wednesday that they've reached a deal to end claims that union-represented workers violated federal labor law by blocking a delivery truck from exiting a dealership during a strike.
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August 01, 2024
GE Retirees Reach Deal To Resolve Pension Benefits Dispute
General Electric retirees announced Thursday they'd struck a deal with their former employer to resolve claims that GE improperly used a company spinoff to renounce responsibility for supplemental pension benefits reserved for senior executives, the plaintiff-side firm that represented the retirees said.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Says Teacher's Failure To Engage Sinks ADA Suit
A former teacher can't revive his disability bias lawsuit claiming a school board unlawfully refused to let him continue working from home following a mid-pandemic return to in-person instruction, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, faulting the educator for refusing to discuss alternative accommodations.
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August 01, 2024
9th Circ. Says Vegas Casino Pilots Are Exempt From OT
Five corporate pilots for a Las Vegas casino performed non-manual labor and are therefore exempt from overtime requirements under federal law, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday, upholding a Nevada federal court's decision.
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August 01, 2024
Reed Smith Says NJ High Court Ruling Limits Ex-Atty's Claims
A recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling "dramatically changes the landscape and scope" of a former Reed Smith LLP attorney's discrimination suit, the firm has told a state court judge in a brief asking that discovery and damages be limited and one claim be dismissed.
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August 01, 2024
Former Coach Says MSU Heads Fired Him To Save Their Jobs
Former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker has filed a suit against the school's top administrators alleging they fired him over baseless sexual harassment allegations to protect their own jobs after the Larry Nassar debacle.
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August 01, 2024
Senate Panel OKs NLRB Nominees, Setting Up Floor Fight
A Senate committee on Thursday voted to advance the nomination of National Labor Relations Board Chairman Lauren McFerran and a Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner nominated to fill a Republican vacancy on the board, setting up a high-stakes floor fight over key spots at the agency.
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August 01, 2024
Calif. Tribe Can't Toss Casino Card Check Award, For Now
A California tribe's bid to nix an arbitration award over an authorization card check process with UNITE HERE can't proceed for now, a federal judge ruled, saying the tribe's counsel didn't discuss the motion with the union's attorney before submitting it.
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August 01, 2024
Judge Kills Trade Secrets, Contract Suit Against Ex-Director
A federal judge agreed on Wednesday to toss legal industry staffing company HIRECounsel D.C. LLC's breach of contract and trade secrets lawsuits against a former managing director of client relations, saying the company had not managed to prove actual or liquidated damages.
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August 01, 2024
5th Circ. Says Oil Crossing State Lines Made Work Interstate
The crude oil that a worker transported travels outside of Texas and thus is part of an interstate trip, the Fifth Circuit ruled, flipping a district court's decision that the Motor Carrier Act exemption didn't apply to a transporter who sought unpaid overtime.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Dashes Appeal Of Mich. Township's Ex-GC
A Michigan township's former general counsel was not denied due process when his position was eliminated in 2020, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, agreeing with the district court that the attorney's employment agreement did not guarantee him a job.
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August 01, 2024
$9M White Castle Fingerprint BIPA Deal Clears Final Approval
An Illinois federal judge gave his final sign-off Thursday to a $9.39 million settlement between White Castle and a group of employees who claimed the fast-food chain violated their biometric privacy, ending a case that resulted in the state supreme court's landmark ruling on privacy claims.
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August 01, 2024
RTX Didn't Tell Jobseekers Of Lie Detector Ban, Suit Says
Raytheon Technologies Corp., now RTX Corporation, failed to advise job applicants that Massachusetts bans the use of lie detector tests in hiring decisions, as required by a nearly 40-year-old law, a proposed class action filed in state court alleges.
Expert Analysis
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Defending Against Aggressive DOL Child Labor Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Labor's recent unsuccessful injunction against an Alabama poultry facility highlights both the DOL's continued focus on child labor violations and the guardrails and defenses that employers can raise, say attorneys at Littler.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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2 Lessons From Calif. Overtime Wages Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision finding that Home Depot did not purposely dodge overtime laws sheds light on what constitutes a good faith dispute, and the extent to which employers have discretion to define employees' workdays, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal McCambridge.
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Questions Remain After 3rd Circ.'s NCAA Amateurism Ruling
The Third Circuit's recent holding that college athletes can be considered employees under the FLSA adds to the trend of student-athletes obtaining new legal status in collegiate athletics, but leaves key questions unanswered, including how the economics of the decision will be applied, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Justices' Starbucks Ruling May Limit NLRB Injunction Wins
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks v. McKinney, adopting a more stringent test for National Labor Relations Board Section 10(j) injunctions, may lessen the frequency with which employers must defend against injunctions alongside parallel unfair labor practice charges, say David Pryzbylski and Colleen Schade at Barnes & Thornburg.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Biden Policy Gives Employers New Ways To Help Dreamers
A new Biden administration immigration policy makes the process more predictable for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients to seek employment visas, and, given uncertainties surrounding DACA’s future, employers should immediately determine which of their employees may be eligible, says Jennifer Kim at Moore & Van Allen.
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How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance
Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.
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Opinion
A Way Forward For The US Steel-Nippon Deal And Union Jobs
Parties involved in Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel should trust the Pennsylvania federal court overseeing a key environmental settlement to supervise a way of including future union jobs and cleaner air for the city of Pittsburgh as part of a transparent business marriage, says retired judge Susan Braden.
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How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry
In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.
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Opinion
H-2 Visas Offer Humane, Economic Solution To Border Crisis
Congress should leverage the H-2 agricultural and temporary worker visa programs to match qualified migrants with employers facing shortages of workers — a nonpolitical solution to a highly divisive humanitarian issue, say Ashley Dees and Jeffrey Joseph at BAL.
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PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance
Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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The Show Must Go On: Noncompete Uncertainty In Film, TV
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action to ban noncompetes while the entertainment industry is in the midst of a massive shift away from traditional media, so it is important for studio heads and content owners alike to understand the fate of the rule and their options going forward, say Christopher Chatham and Douglas Smith at Manatt.
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'Outsourcing' Ruling, 5 Years On: A Warning, Not A Watershed
A New York federal court’s 2019 ruling in U.S. v. Connolly, holding that the government improperly outsourced an investigation to Deutsche Bank, has not undercut corporate cooperation incentives as feared — but companies should not completely ignore the lessons of the case, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Anna Nabutovsky at Selendy Gay.